Safa Idriss

Hello and Good Morning to everyone! I hope that you are doing well! I stumbled across an article on Safa Idriss and decided to blog about her incredible story. If you have never heard of this beautiful little girl, let me tell you a little bit about her.

Safa, sometimes referred to as a “desert flower”, is a Somali African girl from the Djibouti slums. She was thrust into the media spotlight at the age of three in 2009 for two reasons. One, she was cast to play the young Somali supermodel Waris Dirie in the movie Desert Flower based on her autobiography of the same name. Two, the infamous contract Waris made her parents sign in order for Safa to be cast and compensated for her role in the movie Desert Flower. Hold your horses, do not jump to any conclusions yet. There is a reason why Waris enforced this…

Waris Dirie is a world famous Somali supermodel who told her own story of poverty and female genital mutilation in her autobiography entitled Desert Flower. Female genital mutilation is a harmful practice performed in almost all of Africa and many other countries as well. Waris did not want Safa to suffer the same fate she did since many victims of female genital mutilation sometimes die from bleeding out or suffer lifelong side effects from this harmful practice. Waris made her parents promise and sign a contract that they would never force Safa to undergo this “procedure” since many are forced at the age of three years old.

Fast forward a few years later, Waris received a letter from Safa stating that her parents were being pressured and ostracized for not performing this harmful procedure on her. Moved by her love for Safa and her mission to put an end to female genital mutilation, Waris flew to Somalia to confront Safa’s parents. Angry and upset, Waris reminded Safa’s parents of their contract and she even threatened to take her away.

In the end, Safa’s parents did not force her to endure such a traumatic “procedure” and along with Safa, they have even become spokespersons against the harmful practice of female genital mutilation. I can only hope that many other young girls will be saved from the dangerous practice of female genital mutilation. It makes me so happy to see that Safa is continuing to grow into a beautiful young lady. I’m quite sure she and Waris will continue to fight against the harmful practice of female genital mutilation.